Country
by KDMOSP
Summary: Tanner never expected to find what he did that stormy day in the barn but it explained why there was a helicopter flying around the small country town.


**AN: I just found out I was approved for an organ transplant. I'm scared but happy! Please review this story; its only a one shot! It is not my best but just trying to get back into writing!**

Tanner Owens hummed to himself as he washed the breakfast dishes; the house was finally quiet. He had successfully sent off his eight children to school and his wife to work; all that was left was him. Him and the four dogs, seven cats, three rabbits, a turtle, a turkey, three horses and countless fish. And the llama. "Vincent," he shook his head he prepared breakfast for his animals on the farm. "Cannot forget Vincent."

Tanner had moved his family to the small-town county farm just a year ago; had moved his therapy practice to the farm and had watched in amazement as his practice had taken off. His clients appeared to love interacting with the animals and Tanner rejoiced in watching them heal their horrific traumas. And while he sometimes longed for the hustle and bustle of the big city, he had become accustomed to the slow pace of the country. And as everyday ticked by, Tanner fell more and more in love with the fresh country air and the sounds of animals and nature compared to the sounds of car horns, sirens and angry city dwellers.

"Crap." Tanner looked up and glanced at the clock, it was almost nine in the morning, his first appointment was at ten and he still had to feed his herd. Quickly gathering the buckets of feed, Tanner grabbed his keys and headed to his tractor.

It was raining outside, pouring. But one look at the clouds and Tanner knew even more rain was coming and that his stock pond would hopefully fill up. It had a been a brutal and dry summer and rain was desperately needed. But the rain was not what Tanner's attention was drawn to. Instead, he heard a familiar sound and looked up.

"What the hell?" He brought his hand over his eyes as he followed the helicopter. It was circling a small area and from what he could see, it looked like a police helicopter. He stood for a moment, wondering what in the hell was going on before shrugging and moving on. If it involved his at all, someone would let his know.

Then again… the small town had only two police officers; and they worked bankers' hours. For a police helicopter to be out here, it would have had to come from another city. "They must be training." Tanner reassured himself as he parked his tractor at the first barn.

Tanner stepped off the tractor and shivered in the cold air, pulling his light jacket closer around his as he grabbed one of the buckets. As he was walking to the barn, he heard one of the horses winey in anticipation of breakfast arriving.

"I'm here Lloyd, I'm here. Just wait a…" Tanner froze. The door to the barn had been pulled open leaving just crack. Growling slightly, Tanner made a mental note to get onto his children. How many times had he told them to close and lock the barn door? They had already lost numerous chickens to the coyotes and snakes; the last thing he needed was for his children find more slaughtered animals.

Pulling the door open and dragging the bucket, Tanner walked into the barn and switched on the overhead lights. Instantly, he stopped. A bright red substance littered the floor; it looked as if something had been attacked and the blood trail led to one of the stalls.

"Damn it!" Tanner swore as he dropped the bucket of feed. He gagged a bit and steadied himself for what he was about to find, which of his animals had been killed. He followed the trail into a back stall and pushed open the ajar door.

He stopped cold.

It wasn't an animal at all. It was a human being. And she was sitting up, braced again the stall wall. The blood trail led straight to her. Tanner hesitated for a moment before rushing over.

"Ma'am," Tanner dropped down to the women's side and gently shook her. "Ma'am, can you hear me?" Tanner felt his own heart racing as he looked over the petite woman. She was deathly pale, her blond hair and streaks of red in it, her own hands were stained red. Her left hand was resting on her abdomen and Tanner could see another wound on the woman's leg. "Sweetheart, I need you to open your eyes." Tanner begged, pressing his fingers to the women's neck and feeling a pulse. She was still alive.

Seeing that the blonde was clearly unconscious, Tanner looked around as he patted his pockets. "Fuck," he swore, realizing he had left his phone back in his kitchen. He stood up and glanced around, hoping that maybe this woman had something on his that would help Tanner help his. As he spun around, Tanner noticed something poking out from behind the woman, apparently, she had been using it as brace for her back.

"Ma'am, I'm not going to hurt you." Tanner spoke softly and reached out to grab the material. As he pulled it away, he heard a groan from the blonde. "Hi there, can you open your eyes?"

Slowly, Tanner watched as her eyes blinked open, beautiful blue eyes that looked pained. Instantly, the women hissed in pain and her hand pressed further into her abdomen. She shifted her weight in an attempt to ease the pain but to no avail.

"Easy now, I am trying to get you some help." Tanner whispered. "What's your name?"

"JJ." The woman whispered, her voice hardly there.

"JJ, can you walk at all?" Tanner asked, not wanting to leave the woman alone in the barn.

JJ swallowed, "I think my leg is broken." She leaned his head back, not wanting to look at the wound. "Fell down a hill." She groaned again.

"Okay, okay, easy now. What about your stomach?" Tanner asked, desperately thinking of what to do.

JJ coughed. "Stabbed me, large knife. That's when I fell."

Tanner's concern grew, "Who stabbed you?"

JJ shook her head, "He isn't here, I shot him, I saw him hit." She coughed.

Tanner could tell this woman was growing weaker by the moment but now his concern for his own safety was growing. JJ had just admitted to shooting someone and Tanner began backing away.

"No. It's okay…" JJ coughed. "I…" more coughing. "I'm FBI."

And then it all clicked with Tanner. "The helicopter, there's a helicopter circling. They must be looking for you…"

JJ nodded. "It wouldn't surprise me. Think you can flag them down?"

Tanner smiled. "Can I get you out of the barn? I'll help you out, I just don't want you stay in here. It's going to start flooding the floor soon and who knows what's in the dirt." Tanner brushed his hands off on his jeans. "JJ, can I pick you up? I need to get you out of here. As soon as we get to the house, we will call 911."

JJ took a deep breath and nodded, allowing Tanner to bend down and gently lift her into his arms. She grimaced instantly and pain shot through her body. "Alright, its alright. I got you." Tanner soothed as he walked back to the tractor. He gently placed JJ in the back before taking off his own jacket and covering her with it. "It'll be a short ride." He promised, hoping it wouldn't be too painful. The rain was coming down in buckets now and Tanner could only hope the road wasn't flooded. And just when he didn't think it could get much worse, it began hailing.

"Damn it," He swore, glancing back at his charge. "JJ, keep your eyes open. We are almost there. I will get you warm and get you some help!" He drove as fast as the tractor would allow him, a astounding twenty miles an hour. I would take ten minutes to get to the home; all while hail was coming down harder and the wind picking up.

He could hardly see as the tractor made its way along. And then with all the rain, with the road flooding and creating a thick muddy soup. The tractor stalled. And Tanner, knowing he did not have time to mess with it, jumped off the tractor and pulled JJ into his arms.

She didn't move.

"JJ?" He shook her; he received a small moan and Tanner knew they were running out of time. The rain was blinding at this point, the hail was bouncing but Tanner did everything he could to keep her safe, keep her protected. And finally, finally his house came within sight.

And he smiled.

Briefly.

Because out of nowhere, he was surrounded. Surrounded by guns all pointing at him, screaming at him.

"Put her down!" A man with a strong voice shouted at him. "Put her down or I will shoot!"

"She's hurt! I have no weapons, I have nothing…" Tanner yelled back, wanting to put his hands in the air but not willing to drop JJ. "Please, come get her! Her pulse is weak, she can't have much longer!"

And he was rushed. Within seconds, he was on the ground, his face in the mud and his arms were pulled behind him. He had just enough movement to turn his head as three men stood over JJ, all with the same vest she had had on. And he understood, this was her team. Her family.

"She was stabbed!" Tanner yelled, getting the attention of the three men surrounding JJ. "Her stomach! Her leg is broken!" He was yanked up by his arms and forced away from JJ, before being shoved into a police car.

He sat there and watched as an ambulance arrived, watching as the paramedics tended to JJ, watched as they gently moved her over to a gurney and loaded her into the ambulance. And then he watched as it drove away, lights and sirens blaring. Never a good sign.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there before the door opened, and the agent who had ordered him to drop JJ was standing outside. "Let's get you dry." He said, helping Tanner out of the car and freeing his hands.

No words were spoken as Tanner walked inside his own home, as the FBI agent followed him inside. "Is it okay if I go and change?" He asked, gesturing to his soaking clothes.

The agent nodded, "I need to talk to you, the place is surrounded so if you try and run…"

"I have no reason to run agent. Give me five minutes and I will be back down."

Tanner did exactly as he had said and came back downstairs, now dressed in warm and dry clothes. "Can I get you something to drink? I am making some hot tea?"

The agent shook his head. "My name is Aaron Hotchner, I work with the FBI."

Tanner smiled. "Like JJ? I figured. The way you came at me made me figure she wasn't just a victim. She was important to you."

"Did she say anything to you?"

Tanner nodded. "Said she had been stabbed and fell down a hill, broke her leg. She said she shot someone. Then told me she was FBI. That's about all she could say."

Hotch stared at him. "How did she end up on your property? How did you find her?"

Tanner took a deep breath and proceeded to tell him how he had found JJ. "As for how she ended up here, I do not know. I can guess that she fell down the hill about six hundred feet back and someone was able to get out of the storm and into the barn."

And they stood there, talking. About JJ, how about what had transpired and what would happen.

"Is the guy dead? The guy who did this to her?" Tanner asked after nearly an hour of conversation.

Hotch nodded. "When JJ shoots, she doesn't miss."

There was silence before Tanner spoke again. "Will she be okay?"

"I hope so. She wasn't consciousness when the paramedics took her to the hospital."

And Tanner nodded again. "Will…. If you can, keep me updated? I don't need to know any details, just if she's okay?" He handed the agent one of his business cards and hoped the agent would keep his promise.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

JJ smiled as Hotch pulled up to the familiar building. He guided the SUV to the front porch before parking and leaving to get JJ's wheelchair. "I'm fine Hotch, I don't need that." She said softly.

"Doctor says you do, agent." Hotch replied. "And this was part of the deal, you can go for a long drive and visit if you promise to use the wheelchair."

JJ smiled, not having the energy to fight. "Fine."

Hotch opened the door and reached in, lifting JJ and placing her gently on the chair. She was doing remarkably well considering her injuries, considering just a week ago, she had undergone emergency surgery for a stab wound and a shattered tibia. However, the doctor had been firm, JJ could visit provided she stay in the wheelchair and without any weight bearing activities.

"Thanks, Hotch," JJ smiled as he unlocked the breaks on the chair and began pushing it towards the front door.

"Of course, JJ." He replied as he opened the door and pushed the wheelchair inside. "I guess Tanner has a client; we can just wait."

"You didn't bully him, did you Hotch?" JJ laughed.

"Nope. Never." Hotch briefly smiled recalling the moment he had seen Tanner carrying his injured agent towards them.

JJ shook her head, not having any memory beyond limited details of the entire event. They sat in silence for five more minutes before the office door swung opne and an older man smiled and left.

It was then that Tanner walked out and smiled. "Well hello," He grinned, seeing JJ. He reached over and gave her a tight hug. "You look better."

"All thanks to you." JJ said.

"I didn't do anything," Tanner replied, taking notice of the large cast encompassing her leg. "I guess you were right when you said your leg was broken!"

JJ laughed. "I knew the moment I heard it that it was broken."

And they spent the next two hours talking. JJ telling Tanner how grateful she was for him and promising to keep in touch.

And as they drove away, Tanner waved and took in a deep breath. Yes, the country life was for him.


End file.
